Editing Begging the question (section)

{{Short description|Logic founded on unproven premises}}
{{not to be confused with|Calling the question}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}

In classical [[rhetoric]] and [[logic]], '''begging the question''' or '''assuming the conclusion''' ([[Latin language|Latin]]: {{lang|la|petītiō principiī}}) is an [[informal fallacy]] that occurs when an argument's premises assume the [[truth]] of the [[Logical consequence|conclusion]]. Historically, begging the question refers to a fault in a [[dialectical]] [[argument]] in which the speaker assumes some [[premise]] that has not been demonstrated to be true. In modern usage, it has come to refer to an argument in which the premises assume the conclusion without supporting it. This makes it an example of [[circular reasoning]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#CircularReasoning | title=Fallacies | publisher=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy | date=27 March 2003 | access-date=April 5, 2012 | author=Dowden, Bradley | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009055518/http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#CircularReasoning | archive-date=9 October 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Herrick248">Herrick (2000) 248.</ref>

Some examples are: 

*“Wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets as fall attire because wool sweaters have higher wool content".<ref>{{cite web|title=beg the question|work=Cornell Law School|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/beg_the_question|access-date=May 31, 2025}}</ref>
** The claim in this quote is that wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets as fall attire. However, the justification of this claim begs the question because it ''presupposes'' that wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets: in other words, wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets because wool is better than nylon. An [[essentialism|essentialist]] analysis of this claim observes that anything made of wool intrinsically has more "wool content" than that which is not made of wool, giving this quote weak [[explanatory power]] as to why wool is superior to nylon in the first place.
*"Drugs are illegal so they must be bad for you. Therefore, we ought not legalize drugs because drugs are bad for you."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walton |first1=Douglas |title=Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88617-8 |page= 64ff}}</ref>

The phrase ''beg the question'' can also mean "strongly prompt the question", a usage that is distinct from the sense in logic but is widespread,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=beg the question |encyclopedia=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |year=2022 |last= |first= |publisher=HarperCollins |location= |id= |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=beg |access-date=November 10, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=beg the question |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster |year=2024 |last= |first= |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc |location= |id= |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beg |access-date=November 10, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=beg the question |encyclopedia=Oxford Learner's Dictionary |year=2024 |last= |first= |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= |id= |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/beg |access-date=November 10, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=beg the question |encyclopedia=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary |year=2024 |last= |first= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |id= |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/beg-the-question |access-date=November 10, 2024 }}</ref> though some consider it incorrect.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marsh |first1=David |title=Begging the question |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2010/may/24/begging-the-question-mind-your-language |website=The Guardian |date=24 May 2010 |access-date=17 March 2023}}</ref>